Return of Black Lotus system:Taming Cheating Male Leads

Chapter 412: Chapter-412

"System," Heena asked, her voice dropping into a serious, quiet register. "Are you absolutely sure that the original Seera died because of Maya and that old man?"

The tiny lion paused, its glowing blue eyes blinking before it gave a firm nod. "Yes, Host. It is explicitly written in the original plotline." The System tilted its head, sensing the sudden shift in her mood. "Why do you ask? Is there something wrong?"

Heena slowly shook her head, her brow furrowing in deep thought. "Not necessarily wrong... but I just think that, you know, whenever we take over a world, whatever character we inhabit ends up changing quite a bit. The path always shifts from how it was originally written in the story to the choices we actually make."

She raised a hand, rubbing her temples gently. "And for some time now... I feel like something is fundamentally wrong with this body."

The System raised its holographic eyebrows, clearly struggling to understand what she meant. "Wrong? Like, physically? Is there something wrong with you right now, Host?"

Heena dropped her hand with a heavy sigh. "I am just feeling quite tired lately, you see. Sometimes I get incredibly dizzy out of nowhere."

The lion’s glowing form flickered thoughtfully. "Maybe it is just because of low blood pressure or low blood sugar? After all, the original Seera’s body was incredibly malnourished and not that strong to begin with. You have been putting it through a lot of stress."

Heena paused, mulling over the logic. "Might be," she conceded quietly.

"Should I perform a deep body scan for you, Host?" the System offered immediately, its tail swishing with concern. "Just to be safe?"

Heena firmly shook her head. "No. Not now. We cannot just recklessly use up all your energy reserves just because we are slightly paranoid. Let’s save the power for later, when we might actually need it to survive."

"But Host—"

Before the System could finish its sentence, a heavy, sudden shift beside her cut the conversation short.

Samuel let out a low, hoarse groan in his sleep. His massive, incredibly muscular arm suddenly moved, draping heavily over Heena’s waist and pulling her flush against his burning hot, bare chest.

Heena’s entire body froze for a few terrifying seconds. She held her breath, waiting to see if he was actually waking up.

But Samuel didn’t open his eyes. He merely nuzzled his face deep into the crook of her neck, letting out a soft, completely contented sigh, and remained fast asleep, his heavy arm keeping her securely locked against him.

Heena let out a long, silent sigh of relief. She slowly relaxed her tense muscles, settling back into the pillows. She cast a sharp sideways glance at the glowing lion and communicated directly through her mind.

Get lost, she ordered telepathically.

Not wanting to be scolded out loud and risk waking the lethally possessive guard, the System flattened its holographic ears and grumbled under its breath. It flickered and phased right through the bedroom wall, disappearing into the night.

Once outside in the cool night air, the System suddenly paused on the courtyard roof. Its glowing blue eyes widened.

"Oh, wait!"the System realized, its tail flicking in alarm. "I completely forgot to tell the Host about the new discovery I made!"

It turned back toward the bedroom wall, ready to phase back inside, but then hesitated. Remembering Heena’s deeply exhausted expression, her complaints of dizziness, and the heavy burden she was carrying, the little lion’s mechanical heart softened.

"Never mind," the System muttered to itself, sitting down on the curved roof tiles and looking up at the beautiful, silver moon hanging in the sky. "I will just tell her later. She really needs the rest."

### The Next Morning

The sun rose over the grand Marquisate estate, bringing with it a brand new day of absolute, highly calculated chaos.

By mid-morning, Heena was summoned to the main hall. As she stepped over the threshold, she saw her parents already seated at the head table. And, quite frankly, both the Marquis and the Marchioness looked exactly like they had just eaten a plate of hot garbage.

Well, to be fair, they basically had.

Heena had completely and utterly stopped giving them even a fraction of the filial respect they felt entitled to. Her logic was brutally simple and flawlessly pragmatic: In the ruthless hierarchy of noble society, you only bow to the people who hold the actual power.

Now that Heena had correctly deduced that the true, terrifying masters of the estate were her Grandfather and Grandmother, that was exactly where she was going to anchor her loyalty. Why would she waste her time kissing up to two middle-management parents who were absolutely terrified of their own elders?

Secondly, Heena knew the cold, hard truth. No matter how perfectly she behaved, no matter how subservient, quiet, or "good" she acted, these bastards were always going to hate her. They had already replaced her in their hearts with their precious, adopted parasite grooms.

If they are going to hate me no matter what I do,Heena thought, a wicked, razor-sharp smile curving her lips as she casually strolled into the main hall without offering a single bow, *then I am absolutely going to give them a spectacular reason for it.*

The heavy wooden doors to the main hall were wide open, and the atmosphere inside was so thick and suffocating it felt like wading through wet cement.

​Heena strolled in with a leisurely, completely unbothered grace. Samuel followed half a step behind her, a towering, silent shadow radiating his usual lethal, intimidating pressure.

​Sitting at the head of the long mahogany table were the Marquis and the Marchioness. Their faces were drawn, pale, and deeply lined with the residual stress of yesterday’s absolute humiliation.

​Sitting further down the table were the four grooms.

​Heena actually had to pause for a second to stop herself from bursting into laughter.

​Gone were the luxurious, embroidered silk robes. Gone were the jade hairpins and the gold rings. Following the Grand Madam’s ruthless decree to the absolute letter, the estate servants had dressed the four men in the most basic, scratchy, undyed linen garments available.

​Kavien sat there looking like a miserable peasant, sporting a massive, ugly white bandage across the bridge of his broken nose. The Second Groom looked like he wanted to crawl under the table. The Fourth Groom was glaring at his bowl of plain porridge as if it had personally murdered his family. Only Orion managed to maintain a relatively calm composure, though the stiff set of his jaw betrayed his utter humiliation.

​Heena didn’t bow. She didn’t offer a polite morning greeting.

​She simply walked past her seething parents, pulled out the most comfortable, cushioned chair at the table, and sat down right across from Kavien.

​"Good morning," Heena chirped brightly, picking up a silver spoon. "My, don’t we all look... incredibly rustic today? It is very grounding. Very close to the earth."

​Kavien’s hands tightened into fists under the table, his eyes burning with absolute hatred, but a single, terrifying glance from Samuel over Heena’s shoulder completely glued his mouth shut.

​The Marchioness slammed her teacup down onto its saucer. Clink!

​"You have made your point, Seera," the Marchioness hissed, her voice trembling with barely suppressed rage.